EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the third story in a series on the top local high school boys' basketball players of the past decade.
As successful as Jorden Williams was on the basketball court at Sewanee, the standout guard may have learned even more off of it.
Of course, the McCallie School graduate is pleased with what he accomplished during his time with the NCAA Division III Tigers from 2013 to 2017: He earned All-Southern Athletic Association honors three times, scored 1,472 points to rank fourth in program history and is Sewanee's all-time leader in 3-pointers made (280). But Williams, the son of Cleveland High School assistant principal Jacqueline Lane, also majored in African American studies during college and has made the sort of connections that not only helped him consider Sewanee in the first place but thrive during his time there and beyond.
Not that he really wanted to go to Sewanee after averaging just less than 17 points per game and shooting 39% from 3-point range for the Blue Tornado as a senior. What he had been unable to do at McCallie, where he played behind several Division I signees, was carve out a definitive position, so college coaches weren't sure whether he could be a pure point guard.
But what going to Sewanee allowed him to do was be the player he wanted to be. In his first very college contest, he scored 17 points in a loss to Furman, a D-I program. He had 16 in his third game and 23 in his fourth. By then, he was facing double-team defenses.
He averaged 16.1 points per game as a freshman and received his first All-SAA selection; the following season he averaged 16.9 and was honored again. He lost half of his junior season due to an academic matter and averaged just 14.5 points while playing 14 games, but Williams played all 26 again as a senior and averaged 15.8 on his way to the All-SAA list.
"Sewanee ended up being the right choice for me because as a Black man, I got to learn," he said. "Socially and economic and school-wise, it was the best decision for me because I grew up as a Black man, and basketball-wise, I got to grow up as a person that could finally showcase my skills.
"Once my coach figured out what I could do, I had the keys to the Ferrari and it felt good. Looking back on it, it was the right decision for me to go there, because I got to learn how to be a little bit more selfless and how to figure out what's better for the team goals than just my wants and needs just to get a scholarship."
His post-college life has been just as productive. He spent some time as a football and basketball coach and teacher at Providence Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina. He also worked for a year and a half in public relations as a brand and marketing manager for former Chattanooga resident Darron Lee, a linebacker for the New York Jets at the time.
"That was a great learning experience," Williams said. "Doing PR and brand management for a NFL player has its ups and downs because NFL players can be a lot at times, but it was good to have that experience under my belt to understand how to network."
Williams currently runs GoodTimesCLT, a retail store in Charlotte. He's been able to glean a wealth of knowledge in the working world, but equally important was the knowledge he gained during college.
"It was a seamless connection from McCallie to Sewanee," he said. "They knew what to do and what to say and how to make sure everything was OK for me, kind of like a feeder program. There were a lot of people I could rely on if I needed help; they knew who to talk to in the admissions office.
"They taught me all the baby steps to proceed in school."
And the connections to help him thrive beyond it.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.
Staff photo / McCallie's Jorden Williams drives to the basket past Baylor's Gage Upshaw (30) during the rivalry matchup at McCallie on Feb. 9, 2013.READ MORE OF THE SERIES
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Central's Ryan Montgomery gained confidence over course of Lee Flames career
Former Cleveland standout Ish Sanders found his scoring touch